Last Saturday, 14 men and women from Helping Up Mission – 5 staff members and 9 Spiritual Recovery Program members – “Faced The Challenge” by their participation in the Baltimore Running Festival – a first for the Mission! Program member Robert Dickson pushed himself to the extreme and completed – yes, completed – the Full Marathon (26.2 miles). Completing the Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) were Executive Director Bob Gehman, Spiritual Life Director Gary Byers, Staff Member Tom Henry, Intern Barry Smith, and program members Herb Carsten and Josh Sandlin. Six others completed the 5K (3.1 miles): Finance Director Andy Gorode, Executive Assistant Kate Maguire, and program members Arnold Bowman, Brian Carter, Frank Handley, Michael Kirksey, and Michael Monroe.
We celebrate the personal accomplishments of each person who perservered this past weekend. Each runner had a personal goal to finish his own race – and each faced the challenge of extended training and personal sacrifice to achieve this worthy goal. In a larger sense, though, the runners were thinking beyond themselves. With each step in the race, the runners were representing the 400+ men who reside at Helping Up Mission every day – Facing the Challenge of homelessness and/or addiction to alcohol or drugs. Recovery and restoration from these debilitating conditions requires the person to Face the Challenge – one step at a time, one day at a time.
So, we celebrate the runners of Team HUM! And we also celebrate the men who are Facing The Challenge to overcome the hurts, hang-ups, and habits in their lives – with the hope of realizing permanent change in their lives.
If you’d like to see more photos from the event, please click here: Baltimore Running Festival